Tag: biology

Two monkeys have been cloned in a Chinese laboratory. They were created with the identicaltechnique used to clone Dolly, the sheep back in 1996. Zhong Zhong and Hua Hua were born a few weeks ago at a Chinese lab. Researchers say they are growing normally.

Over two decades ago, Dolly, became the first successfully cloned mammal. Since then cows, pigs, dogs and other mammals have been cloned. The cloning of primates was thought to be more difficult than the creation of other mammals in a lab. The Chinese team has brought the scientific community one step closer to the cloning of humans.

The technique used in the test involves transferring the nucleus of a cell into an egg which has had its nucleus removed. The experiment was remarkable because it used fetal cells instead of adult cells. It took the Chinese scientists many attempts and 127 eggs to clone just two monkeys.

According to scientists, the cloning of monkeys will help to research human diseases, including cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. It is also important in drug research.

China has invested heavily in research in the past years. The successful test came at a time when American and European scientists have backed away from using monkeys and apes for ethical reasons.

Close-up of Dolly, the sheep in her stuffed form – Image: Toni Barros

Words

according to = as said by …

Alzheimer’s disease = disease that affects the brain, especially of older people; it makes it difficult for you to move, talk or remember things

attempt = try

back away = stop doing something

cancer = serious illness in which cells can grow in an uncontrolled way

clone = an animal or plant produced by scientists from one cell of another animal or plant so that they are exactly the same

creation = making something

decade = ten years

disease = illness

drug research = creating new forms of medicine

ethical = something that is morally good or bad

fetal = belonging to an unborn baby or animal

human = a person

identical = the same

including = also

invest = put money into …

laboratory = room or building in which scientific experiments take place

mammal = type of animal that drinks milk from its mother’s body when it is young; humans, dogs and cows are mammals

nucleus = the central part of an atom

primate = member of a group of mammals that includes humans and monkeys

remove = take away

remarkable = unusual, surprising

researcher = person who studies something in order to find out more about it

A recentstudy shows that the world’s coral reefs have been showing signs of strong bleaching due toglobal warming. In the 1980s bleaching was rare, occurring about once every 25 years. Now the rate has risen to about once every five years. Environmentalistspredict that by 2050 bleaching will happen every year or two.

Bleaching is caused when warm water breaks down the algae inside the reefs. They provide food for the corals and keep them healthy. When algae fall off, corals lose their colour and can die within a short period of time. Even if the water surrounding the reefs gets colder again it may take years for the damaged reefs to recover completely.

While bleaching is especially a problem in the waters of the Carribean Sea and Western Atlantic, reefs around Australia and South Africa have hardly been hit. In addition to the warming temperatures of the oceans, coral reefs are also endangered by pollution and overfishing.

Coral reefs are an important ecosystem. They are home to 25% of all marine species and provide a habitat for countless types of fish. Reefs protect coastal regions from flooding and tidal waves. In addition, coral reefs are tourist attractions that lure millions of people every year. The tourist industry around the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, for example, is worth about 5 billion dollars a year.

Healthy coral on the left and bleached coral on the right

Words

billion = a thousand million

bleaching = to make something pale or white; when an object loses its colour

break down = to change its structure

Carribean Sea = sea between North and South America

cause = the reason for something; why something happens

countless = too many to be counted

due to = because of

ecosystem = all the animals and plants in a certain area and the way they live together

endangered = to be in danger

environmentalist = a person who cares about the world around us

especially = above all

global warming = when the temperatures in the atmosphere get higher because of increased amounts of carbon dioxide

habitat = place to live

in addition = also

lure = attract; here: bring people to the area

marine species = animals and plants that live in the oceans

occur = happen

overfishing = when you take too many fish from the sea so that the overall number of fish becomes too low

pollution = when water becomes dirty so that it cannot be used anymore

predict = to say that something will happen in the future

protect = keep safe

provide = give

rare = not very often

recent = a short time ago

recover = to become as healthy as they were before

sign = to show that something is happening

study = a piece of work that is done to find out more about a certain topic

surrounding = around

tidal wave = very large ocean wave that flows over land and destroys things

Chocolate may be in danger of becoming extinct by the middle of this century. Pests and fungal diseases have been found in cacao trees that may endanger the crop’s survival.

In addition, cacao is also under attack by global warming. Trees grow in a very small area about 20° north and south of the equator, where humidity and temperatures are the same all year round. By 2050 rising temperatures and drier weather will push cacao production up into mountainous areas, many of which are home to wild animals.

Scientists from the University of California are trying to save the plant. Together with researchers from the American food company Mars, they are trying to grow cacao seeds that are moreresistantand can grow at higher altitudes.

Most of the world’s cacao production comes from two countries in western Africa, Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana. These areas may not be suitable for cacao production in the decades to come. Millions of farmers depend on cacao for a living.

Cacao tree – Image: Luis Ovalles

Words

altitude = how high up something is

cacao = seeds from which chocolate is made

decade = ten years

endanger = to be a threat to something

equator = line around the middle of the earth

extinct = die out; not exist anymore

century = a hundred years

depend on = need

fungal disease= disease caused by a simple plant that has no leaves and grows in the ground or on other plants; mushrooms are a type of fungus

global warming = an increase in the world’s temperatures caused by growing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere

humidity = the amount of water that is in the air

in addition = also

mountainous = in the mountains

pest = a small animal or insect that can destroy crops and plants

researcher = person who studies a topic in order to find out more about it

resistant = here: it cannot be destroyed or damaged

rise = to go up

scientist = person who is trained in science and works in a lab

seed = small hard object from produced by plants, from which a new plant can grow

A human embryo that was frozen 24 years ago has now become a baby girl. Emma Wren Gibson was born in Knoxville, Tennessee from an embryo frozen in 1992. The mother, Tina Gibson, at 25, is only a year older than the embryo. It is the longest known frozen embryo that has successfully become a baby.

The Gibsons are unable to have children of their own and, in the past, have taken care of several other children.

Couples who use IVF to have a baby usually end up with more embryos than they need. They can decide to store them for later use, dispose of them or donate them for scientific research. Many parents who have leftover embryos give them to special centres where they can be used for others.

Doctors claim them frozen embryos can develop just as well as fresh ones. The dangerous part, however, is the thawing process.Only about 75% of all frozen embryos survive it. Health experts think that there may be up to a million frozen embryos in the United States.

For those who can’t have babies, using a frozen embryo from a donation centre is similar to adoption, only that the baby grows inside the adoptive mother.

An eight-cell human embryo

Words

adoptive = to become parent of a child that isn’t your own

claim = to say that something is true

develop = grow

dispose of = get rid of; destroy

donate = give something to an organisation in order to help

donation centre = here: a place where couples can give embryos they don’t need for others to use

embryo = a human being that has not yet been born but just started to develop

however = but

IVF = in vitro fertilisation = process in which a human egg gets together with male sperm outside a woman’s body; it is also called a test-tube baby

leftover = here: embryos that you do not need any more

scientific research = when scientists try to find out more about a disease or medical problem

similar = like

store = to put things away and keep them somewhere until they are needed

successfully = having the effect that you wanted

survive= live on after a dangerous situation

take care of = to care for someone or look after them

thawing process = here: to take an embryo out of a freezer and wait until its body temperature becomes normal

A recentsurvey , examining the years between 2005 and 2015, has come to the conclusion that more and more of the Amazon rain forest is lost due tomining operations. According to the government, most of these mining activities are illegal and unregulated.

Brazilian environmental organisations now say that mining is one of the major problems of the Amazon rain forest. Whereas earlier estimates put the destruction through mining at about 2% of the total area, experts now say that over 10% of rain forest loss is caused by mining. Most of the rain forest is cleared to create settlements for mine workers , as well as new transportation routes and airports. Minerals mined in the Amazon region include iron ore, bauxite and copper.

The destruction of the rain forest through mining is 12 times greater outside official and regulated areas than within. In some cases observers saw mining activity up to 70 km from a mine’s border.

Rain forests are essential to the planet’s climate. They bindcarbon dioxide and provide a living space for many plants and animals . Since 2000 more than 190 000 square kilometres of the Amazon rain forest have been cleared. The leading cause of deforestation is still farming.

Officials also report that, for the first time in years, deforestation throughout the year has actually decreased – by 16 % between August 2016 and July 2017. This is a result of more surveillance and stricter controls, but it is also caused by lower livestock prices on world markets.

Deforestation of the Amazon rain forest – satellite image

Words

according to = as said by …

bauxite = soft material that you use to get aluminium

bind = here: not let something escape into the atmosphere

border = the end of an area

carbon dioxide = gas that is produced when animals and people breathe out and when carbon is burned

cause = reason

clear = here: cut down trees

conclusion = to decide or say something, based on the information you have

The 2011 tsunami , which led to the nuclear catastrophe at Fukushima, has swept thousands of sea creatures across the Pacific Ocean to the US coast. In the past 6 years scientists have found mussels, starfish, crabs and other marine animals washed up on the American Pacific coast. Marine biologists expect that there are even more species to arrive in the future.

The giant waves caused by the tsunami in Japan were almost 40 metres tall and washed objects into the open sea. In 2012, scientists found debris together with living creatures on them near the Alaskan coast as well as in Hawaii. They were sea animals that have never before been seen there.

Scientists are surprised that marine species have been able to survive over such a long period in such bad conditions. However, most species travelled on plastic or glass objects, things that do not decompose and stay the same for many years. On the other hand, animals that travelled on wooden objects did not make the long journey across the Pacific, because wood lasts only for a short time.

Because the debris moved slowly across the ocean the animals had time to get used to their new surroundings as they travelled the 4,000 mile journey across the Pacific.

With so much plastic and other garbage swimming in the world’s oceans, the danger of marine animals being washed up on foreign coasts has never been greater.

Experts are not sure what effect these new species may have on the local environment. Such invasive species may change the ecosystem of the area they arrive at. They might transport new diseases or kill off existing species . In any case, it will take a decade or more to see the results.

Starfish found off the Pacific coast

Words

crab= sea animal with a hard shell , five legs on each side and two large claws

creature = animal; living thing

debris = garbage, waste

decade = ten years

decompose = to break down into many smaller parts

disease = illness

ecosystem = the animals and plants in a certain area and they way they live together

effect = result ; change caused by an event

foreign = another country

garbage = waste; things people throw away

however = but

invasive species = plant or animal that does not grow naturally in an area but has come there from somewhere else

journey = trip

local environment = the world around the place that you live in

marine species = animals and plants that live in the ocean

mussel = small sea animal with a soft body that can be eaten and a black shell that is split into two parts